It makes my skin crawl really. When it was first announced that Tim Pawlenty, the pro-life Minnesota governor, had proclaimed the month of April "Abortion Recovery Awareness Month", I was open to it. Before I knew anything about it, I was hoping it would be awareness to fund research on the negative effects some women face after choosing an abortion. It does not make a difference to me who finds the best way to help women, as long as it happens.

We have all heard the saying "Pro-Choice does not mean Pro-Abortion." That is true. PC means to have all of the options open to you and all the knowledge known, so that you can make a completely educated decision on what option is best for you. That includes the negative consequences.

I understand that being open to the fact that there can be negative consequences to an abortion is not a happy thought or exactly what the millions of people who continue to fight the good fight for women’s rights wants to acknowledge.

This is not about right and wrong. There are risks, consequences and negative aspects in every life decision. I have no question, with some of the measures currently in place regarding abortion that some women end up regretting their decision to abort.

I fully support the idea that we should have funding and research and care to help and support the women who had an abortion and for whatever reason developed emotional, mental, or physical problems.
Ignoring it, will not make it go away. When I proudly stand up, and shout from the rooftops that I am Pro-Choice, that is exactly what I mean. I am all about the choice! The good, the bad, the ugly. All of it.

What kind of information is being gathered from Abortion Recovery Awareness Month? Who and what
are you collecting awareness of, and who delegates the collecting? If you are expecting to only research regretted abortion from the Pro- Life view, your results will mean nothing.

Obviously, the governor himself has never had an abortion so there is nothing with which he is aware. Are people who have been hurt by abortion in some way, going to turn to the governor of Minnesota to get the word out?

What about all the different variables that make up a woman’s decision to abort? Will there be awareness for women in abusive relationships or pregnant as the result of an attack? No mention was made of the awareness for women who suffer mental health issues from the routine ultrasound scans that are a required procedure in some places, prior to being allowed an abortion.

There was also no mention made, for awareness of the coercion that takes place in astonishing numbers, and the ways to prevent abortions for women whose choice is being forced on them. That is because pro- life supporters are not concerned about the women. Their only concern is the unborn child she is carrying. That is the agenda here.

I have never seen a pro-life protester outside a clinic chanting of love for the women involved. They taunt the women. They chastise, judge, and use hateful hurtful words and images to keep them from their right to choose. The treatment of women should be the focus of the recovery efforts.

Governor Pawlenty and his awareness for abortion have nothing to do with helping women. It is a scare tactic to frighten women from seeking to make an informative choice. The purpose is to gather anyone who has ever had an abortion, and for whatever reason regrets it, so that the pro-life politicians can sway more people to their cause, and ultimately make abortion illegal. That is awareness I want no part of.

I was excited at the possibility that there were politicians who wanted to bring awareness to the woman’s choice, as well as the possible risks before and after them. I was optimistic that maybe more education would come from their efforts, so that every woman in any decision they make, is well informed and has the necessary support they need. I should have known better.